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HIST 352
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BRIEF DESCRIPTIONThis course will be a place to read, think, and talk about the 1960s in two ways: as a watershed in modern U.S. history and as an era whose contested reputation continues to preoccupy scholars and observers. Issues and images associated with the 1960s inspire some Americans, trouble others, and serve as reference points for us all. Why? This course will investigate how the history of the 1960s has been challenged and changed by recent scholarship. Why, for example, is a period popularly perceived as an era of civil rights victories, student activism, progressive reform, and stunning military defeat emerging as a turning point in the histories of anti-liberalism, educational crisis, and conservatism? Interpretive trends change, but the consensus points to the 1960s as a critical dividing line in modern U.S. history, culture and politics. What exactly do the 1960s represent and for whom? When did the 1960s begin? Are the 1960s over yet? |
WRITING REQUIREMENTSThere will be two 5-page essays (double spaced) and a final exam. Please submit both of them on Blackboard, using SafeAssign.
1. The first essay will draw on both Michael Harrington's The Other America and Barry Goldwater's The Conscience of a Conservative. It is due on February 3 before class. You can find the essay question here. The length should be 5 pages, double-spaced.
2. The second essay may be either on Working-Class War or Patty's Got a Gun. It is due on March 3 before class. This essay will take the form of a book review. Please consult these guidelines for writing book reviews. The length should be 5 pages, double spaced.
3. The final exam will consist mainly of essay questions that cover the readings and synthesize the main themes of the course. There may also be some short-answer questions or brief identifications and comparisons. The final exam is scheduled for Tuesday, March 17, 2015, 8-10 am.
Please notice when the written work is due and plan your time accordingly. |
READING REQUIREMENTSRequired reading does not mean required buying. You can find all of the texts below on reserve in Knight Library as well as at the UO Bookstore.
Appy, Christian G. Working-Class War: American Combat Soldiers & Vietnam. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1993.
Goldwater, Barry. The Conscience of a Conservative. Victor Publishing Company, 1960.
Graebner, William. Patty's Got a Gun: Patricia Hearst in 1970s America. University of Chicago Press, 2008.
Harrington, Michael. The Other America. Penguin, 1962.
Levy, Peter B., ed., America in the Sixties--Right, Left, and Center.Greenwood Press, 1998.
various documents linked to the course syllabus
Please consider reading this optional overview, which can help to fill in historial background and details: Maurice Isserman and Michael Kazin, America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960s, 4th edition. Oxford University Press, 2011.
List of Selected 1960s Memoirs Not required, but recommended for your reading pleasure. |
THINKING REQUIREMENTS AND COURSE OBJECTIVESHistory is a discipline that requires discipline, no less than music, neuroscience, or architecture. That means you should expect this course to require real time and effort. But history repays those who devote time and effort to it many times over. If you work hard in this course, you will end the term knowing something about the chronology and significance of the various topics listed on this syllabus. You can also expect the following tangible benefits, all applicable in a wide range of occupations and careers:
My hope is that you will also experience the pleasure of learning. History promises to make us more interesting people and better, more insightful citizens of our communities and our world. |
RULESAcademic Honesty: If this course is to be a worthwhile educational experience, your work must be original. Plagiarism and other forms of cheating are very serious infractions and will not be permitted. Students who are uncertain about what plagiarism is, or who have questions about how to cite published, electronic, or other sources should feel free to consult with the instructor. You can also consult the brief guide to plagiarism and citation posted on my web site.
Classroom Etiquette: In order to create an atmosphere conducive to mutual respect and learning, please refrain from activities such as eating meals, texting, or newspaper-reading during class time. Using computers to take notes is encouraged. If you would prefer to spend the class time on Facebook, shopping, or conducting other online activities, please do that. Just don't come to class! Lateness Policy: No unexcused late assignments will be accepted and no makeup exams will be given. Students who miss deadlines or the final exam will be given 0% for that assignment. If you anticipate difficulty meeting a deadline, please talk to the instructor or one of the GTFs in advance. Medical emergencies cannot, by definition, be anticipated in advance. Accommodations will be made for these but documentation will be required. Accommodations: If you have a documented disability and anticipate needing accommodations in this course, please arrange to see me soon and request that the Accessible Education Center send a letter verifying your disability.
One last note: I apologize for having all these rules! Try to imagine the administrative challenges your instructor faces in managing this large course in a way that is fair to all students. Please be patient with me and with your GTFs! |
GRADESessays: 30% each |
Calendar
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Week 1 |
WHY DO THE 1960s MATTER? WHAT WERE THE 1960s ABOUT? WHEN DID THE 1960s BEGIN AND END?January 6: Introduction
Read:
January 8: The Big Picture
Read:
Watch and Listen: Billboard #1 hit in 1960: Percy Faith, "Theme from A Summer Place" Billboard #1 hit in 1968: Beatles, "Hey Jude" Billboard #1 hit in 1970: Simon & Garfunkel, "Bridge Over Troubled Water" Billboard #1 hit in 1980: Blondie, "Call Me"
Bruce Springsteen on the music and legacy of the 1960s
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Week 2 |
THE AFFLUENT SOCIETY AND ITS DISCONTENTSJanuary 13: The Consumers' Republic
Read:
January 15: Poverty in the Affluent Society
film: “Harvest of Shame”
Read:
Harrington, The Other America, Forward by Maurice Isserman, Introduction by Irving Howe, chap. 1 - chap. 4
Reading and Discussion Questions
for Michael Harrington, The Other America |
Week 3 |
LIBERALISM AT HIGH TIDEJanuary 20: Other Americas
Read: Harrington, The Other America, chap. 5 - end (including the appendix and the afterword)
January 22: The Great Society and the War on Poverty
Read: Levy: documents 2.6, 4.1,
4.2, 4.3
LBJ, University of Michigan commencement address, May 22, 1964
Sargent Shriver, tesimony before the U.S. Senate, Committee on Education and Public Welfare, June 17, 1964
Annie Lowrey, "50 Years Later, War on Poverty Is a Mixed Bag," New York Times, January 5, 2014. |
Week 4 |
BARRY GOLDWATER'S 1960sJanuary 27: Barry Goldwater and the 1964 Election
Read: Levy: documents 2.4, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6
Reading and Discussion Questions for Barry Goldwater, The Conscience of a Conservative
January 29: The 1960s as an Era of Conservative Mobilization and Redefinition
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Week 5 |
THE RIGHTS REVOLUTIONFebruary 3: Reasoning from Race: Pauli Murray and the Civil Rights Movement
first essay due before class
Read: Levy: all the documents in chapter 3
February 5: The Rights Revolution Expands: Disability
Guest speaker: Mark Roberts
Read:
TenBroek, Jacobus. "Cross of Blindness." Vital Speeches of the Day 23, no. 23 (1957):732-36.
Shriver, Eunice Kennedy. "Hope for Retarded Children." The Saturday Evening Post, September, 22, 1962, pp. 71-75
Roberts, Edward V., oral history excerpt, University of California’s Cowell Hospital Residence Program for Physically Disabled Students, 1962-1975: Catalyst for Berkeley's Independent Living Movement, Disability Rights and Independent Living Movement Oral History Series. [The complete oral history can be found online here]
Watch and Listen:
"60 Minutes" profile of Ed Roberts, 1989
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Week 6 |
THE VIETNAM WARFebruary 10: From Cold War to Working-Class War
Read:
Appy, Working-Class War, introduction and chaps. 1-4
Reading and Discussion Questions for Appy, Working Class War
February 12: The Antiwar Movement
Guest speaker: Christian Appy
Read:
Appy, Working-Class War, chaps. 5-9 |
Week 7 |
SEXUAL REVOLUTIONFebruary 17: The Personal Politics of Second-Wave Feminism
Read:
Guidelines for Consciousness-Raising Groups, early 1970s
February 19: Gay Liberation
Read:
Levy: document 7.6
Watch and Listen: clips from "Before Stonewall" clips from "After Stonewall" |
Week 8 |
COUNTERCULTURE, RADICALIZATION, AND VIOLENCEFebruary 24: The Counterculture and the New Left
Watch and Listen: Anti-Obama ad featuring Bill Ayers and the Weather Underground
Read: Levy: documents 8.1, 8.2, 8.3
Graebner, Patty's Got a Gun, pp. 1-113.
February 26: The Patricia Hearst Case
Read: Graebner, Patty's Got a Gun, pp. 117-180.
supplementary material on the case can be found at the Famous Trials Website: The Trial of Patty Hearst |
Week 9 |
MUSIC IN THE 1960s, THE 1970s, AND BEYONDMarch 3: More than a Soundtrack, part 1
second essay due before class
films: "Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The Grandmother of Rock & Roll," "A Hard Day's Night," "Janis"
March 5: More Than a Soundtrack, part 2
Watch and Listen: Bob Dylan, "Blowing in the Wind" The Music of Lou Reed, from the New York Times obituary, October 27, 2013 Sylvester, "You Make Me Feel"
Read: James Miller, "Beatlemania," in Flowers in the Dustbin: The Rise of Rock and Roll, 1947-1977. Simon & Schuster, 1999, pp. 205-217.
Watch these clips from the Beatles' appearance on the Ed Sullivan show and several of their U.S. concerts in February 1964.
Ellen Willis, "Janis Joplin," in Out of the Vinyl Deeps: Ellen Willis on Rock Music. University of Minnesota Press, 2011[originally published in the Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock 'N' Roll, 1980].
Alice Echols, Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture. W. W. Norton, 2010, chapter 2, "More, More, More." |
Week 10 |
WHAT ARE THE ENDURING LEGACIES OF THE 1960s?March 10: The New Right and the Defense of Family Values
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